F1 Forensics is brought to thejudge13 readers in partnership with SomersF1, Like most of us, Matthew Somerfield has a day job and his is being the manager of a car & van rental company in the Isle of Wight.
His passion is to try and bring us non-techies closer to F1 by bridging the gap between the full blown engineering publications and the simplicity of much that is provided by TV.
you can contact Somers on Twitter: @SomersF1 or by email: somersf1@gmail.com, also on #TechF1
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If you missed the auber launch and don’t want to subscribe to their website…here it is. most efficient, just 13 minutes and 59 seconds
Over to Somers…
Sauber C32 Technical Lauch Analysis
Sauber arrive in 2013 with an all new driver lineup, Nico Hulkenburg transfers across from their midfield rivals Force India whilst Esteban Gutierrez is promoted to the other seat.
The C31 was treated with respect from it’s rivals as it’s efficient design lead to some great results, Adrian Newey even dothing his cap to the initial exhaust design employed.
The car is clearly a new design but continuing with the success of their 2012 challenger, like the rest of the launches so far not all of the key design elements are visible on the C32 but we have a good indication of some of the key components.
The Front Wing is clearly a placeholder carried over from the C31 as with the clear change in Sidepod ethos further down the car the chain of command will need to be altered, so expect a revised version at testing. In the image below it would appear that the have lowered the nose tip slightly compared to the C31 and have also incorporated an under nose chin bulge in order to deflect airflow to the Sidepods
The nose is almost a carry over from the C31 with the step still visible, however the team have used the vanity panel in order to channel the airflow with shoulders on either side of the nosecone this is likely due to the team carrying over from the C31 is Saubers use of aduct below and above the Bulkhead via a S duct which channels air from under the car to above aiding in the reattachment issues faced by running the step nose. The ridges created by the vanity panel simply smooth out the airflow to the sides that S duct cannot completely eradicate. A very novel but great approach in my opinion.
Under the nose the team show a set of shell style turning vanes as also used by Red Bull and Ferrari, the team has also continued it’s use of push rod front suspension.
Moving further back down the car we can see just how tight the team have managed to produce their Sidepods which raises questions about the layout of the radiators with them previously following their engine suppliers path (Ferrari). The unencumbered airflow between the narrow Sidepods and Airflow Conditioners will aid in the movement of air to the rear of the car.
At the base of the Airflow Conditioner we find an R shaped cascade hanging over the floor which will combine with the fluted side to the floor to energise the airflow. The Airflow conditioners theirselves are attached both centrally and at their top to the edge of the Sidepod which will also condition the flow rearward.
We can see from the roll hoop that the team have designed a new chassis sporting only 2 visible struts rather than the C31’s 4. Sauber tested their own variant of DRD at the young drivers test in Abu Dhabilast season and so with a design conducive to it’s use around the roll hoop I suspect they will continue to assess it during testing.
The launch car was unveiled with a Semi-Coanda exhaust much like the team raced throughout the central portion of 2012 with their team returning to the ramp exhaust late on in the season having run it early on. Just like the other launches thus far i’d expect to see some revisions in this area during testing / early part of the season to further enhance downforce.
Hi there Somers! I got the tip off you were joining the cabal, and thank you delivering! May I be constructive, please, and suggest a least a little more expansion of details in long hand, and that the long hand brief is the link? That both would help the flow, and AFAIK makes the link more valued by search engine robots. Win win, I believe.
Every tech article on F1 has me going over it again, before I get the clue, but I rather like the angular Sauber nose. I think they’ve put a lot of thought into making it look good, whereas last year they were all a bit emergency surgery.
This is off at a tangent, but I’ve used a design programme called Canvas since about version 2, and it evolved into a fairly unknown but nifty weapon for technical sketching. Here’s the link: http://www.acdsee.com/en/products/canvas-14
I kept my version updated, and tough I was a bit upset actually at a interface transition around version 6, when they stuffed in all the technical drawing features, it was a revelation. I’ve used Canvas to knock out logo designs whilst the phone was cradled on my shoulder to the customer (needed to create a design from a turbine part, unbelievable how fast could go from auto-trace to believable geometry, to the typography: 20 minutes and done, kid you not) but now it replaces AutoCad for my modest and occasional needs. I don’t know what happened to the community around Canvas, it got to be very obscure, or maybe employment contracts circumscribed showing off work, and it’s just ages since I saw discussion, but for finish flourishes no need to go to Photoshop, and Photoshop could not do a lot of what Canvas does. (Canvas has a graphics model that does not distinguish between bitmap and vector, so you can paint on to vector work fluidly)
Anyhow, point of all that, is it’s a super technical drawing tool. I wish I was skilled enough to use it to capacity. I genuinely think it’s classified as a secret weapon because of the speed at which you can work.
(They so owe me for this promotion, but it’s freely given!)
We’ll need some clever drawing tools when tj13 TV is launched – good advice JOJ
Oh, crap, exporting geometry is tough. I remember buying books on graphics formats that only just listed what they were a kilopage a go. Ask some guys about the CAD format woes. Maybe my experience with SoftImage and some lesser known name tools will help? Back then, you had to have a stack of machines to get the thruput, now you can pick SSDs off the shelf to push a gigabyte a second – though still that’s often not enough, depending what you’re doing. How I wish I’d been born into this age when a disk array’s capability did not require starting a business to buy.
Oddly, I did some looking in to what kit mid field broadcast uses, this past week. (Forget high end, just as forget Ferrari’s special Bridgestones) and worked out how amazing could be a ad – hoc studio. As in, we could do that.
Just don’t forget, and it’s not any insult, the real work is writing and creating and getting all that to gel. Vast energies go in to mere seconds of celluloid. (I guess the days of one 400 ft reel lasting 2.3 minutes are forgotten, as is that costing 20,000 pounds in processing, let alone crew costs)
.. anyhow . . up for the coolness, this is the place to experiment for sure, and every bit forward draws more talent. But TJ, please allow how much effort is required to get things all working together, don’t rush at it all.
Okay, back to the positive, it might just be possible this fool can point you in a useful direction, direct you around some nettles to a destination. Just those who say the journey is the main thing, too ofeten forget the destination, as evidenced every time someone gets a #1 hit from their basement.
Thanks for your insight John, I’m looking for a way to create illustrations to accompany my work but in the meantime I still have my Sutton Images connection to get the best images in a short period of time. I certainly look into that software though, thanks for the tip.
I must admit, I like the Sauber and I hope it goes like it looks. Very good analysis as well Somers, thank you for it. F1 obviously has various drawing factors and for me the technical side is what makes it. I am looking forward to reading more of your technical assessments!
Somers. It seems no coincidence to me that both Ferrari and Sauber have the – as we’ve humourously called it the ‘ben Hur’ – slash in the rear wing end plate.
Besides a ‘Bernie demoltion derby’ theories, what do you think it might possibly achieve. Too much of a co-incident both cars have it.
Aero convergence is something we see all the time and chiefly to do with engineers moving teams during car design gestation periods. The DDD’s that appeared on the BGP001, TF109 & FW31 had all originated from an idea within the Super Aguri team that was disbanded in 08 with the team going off to the aforementioned teams….
When you mention the half shafts are aero covered & form part of the suspension, i thought this was a red bull thing. I know 2013 Mclaren uses it but are ferrari running that this yr too? Did they run it last yr?
Hi Craig, the only team that have launched so far without the half shaft shroud is Lotus. Force India use McLaren’s gearbox who have it and Sauber use Ferrari’s who also have it. Only Red Bull ran the shroud last year
Interesting analysis. Gary Anderson seems under-whelmed by the car.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula-one/21305000
I really like Gary as an addition to the BBC – but maybe that’s because something is better than nothing – I’d rather hear what Gordon Murray has to say – or indeed Somers!!!!